Rays’ Price, a Tennessee native, honored at Titans game

The Titans honored Rays pitcher and Tennessee native David Price, inviting him to be team’s honorary “12th Titan” before Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Price posted this photo on Twitter.

TBO.com staff

Published: December 16, 2013

A stadium full of fans got a brief look Sunday at Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price in another team’s uniform. Of course, Price, the subject of recent trade rumors, was simply donning an NFL jersey.

The Tennessee Titans honored the Rays’ pitcher, inviting him to be team’s honorary “12th Titan” before Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals in Nashville.

The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native and star at Vanderbilt University was introduced at LP Field, and Price tweeted a photo of himself running on the field, wearing a Titans jersey.

“A very special thanks to the #tennesseetitans for having us all out yesterday!!” Price wrote in the Twitter post Monday.

According to the team, the “12th Titan” must have Tennessee roots and typically is a celebrity, civic leader, community hero or former Titans player. The honoree raises the team’s “12th Titan” flag before kickoff.

Price, the ace of the Rays’ pitching staff and the 2012 American League Cy Young winner, has two more years of arbitration before he becomes a free agent and is projected to earn at least $13.1 million for the upcoming season, making this offseason a ripe time for the budget-conscious Rays to deal him.

Trade talks reportedly intensified at last week’s baseball winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista. However, Price remains on the Rays’ roster and manager Joe Maddon said recently he did not think the Rays would trade Price before the 2014 season.